Tuesday, 16 July 2013

The Miracle Of Life,The Unique Gift of God

After 2 months of incessant hospital work without a day's rest, (a particularly
exhausting situation necessitated by the dengue fever outbreak),I found
myself in dire need of relaxation. I chose the only relaxation I
knew--spending a few days with my jungle friends,in blissful
oblivion,far from the tense atmosphere of the hospital,listening to the
melodious calls of the jungle birds, the music of the gurgling forest
rivulets, the sound of the leaves rustling in the gentle morning
breeze, The mighty rivers ,their silent majesty and deceptive tranquility, the dense cumuli rolling down the mountain sides, the morning
mist enveloping the forest trees,turning them in to ghostly
apparitions, the regal beauty of the solitary chital stag, the resplendent peacock's extravagant hues and pretended innocence, all those sights my soul forever craved to see--

The mystical beauty of the forest rivulet foaming over the rock bed.. The ghostly apparitions in the morning mist...

The dream scape of undulating shola grasslands,and the silvery,meandering stream..

The tranquil lake encircled by forested mountains..

The majestic river,it's silent power,and deceptive tranquility..

The cumulus clouds pouring down the mountain sides..

the regal beauty of the solitary chital stag

the resplendent peacock's extravagant hues and pretended innocence,

The distant hills jutting out from the veil of morning mist....

The mighty waterfall roaring down from the heights..

Breaking it's fury in to foam and mist on the rocks below,,

and flowing placidly in silvery ripples and wind-blown mist..

meandering down the deep valley between the majestic mountains..

how many times have I been mute witness to all this drama of life,......

a drama unique to the planet we have inherited,and which we are so thoughtlessly destroying.... The miracle called ''life'' is a legacy we have received from God,and I have always been fascinated by it's dazzling diversity. It amazes me that not even a drop of water has yet been detected in the vast expanses of space stretching out in to the unknown, with all those millions of galaxies,all their stars and planets ,which just goes to show how priceless every single life is,be it the mighty tiger,or the tiny beetle.I could understand why the Ecclesiastes said''For that which befalleth the Sons of men,befalleth beasts. As the one dieth,so the other. All or of the dust,andunto the dust all shall return"".It saddened me that I belonged to so destructive a race.

The
forests,the wetlands,the mountains,the rivers , the lakes, all echo
to the joyous sounds of that unique gift of God we call ''life'',and to
me,there is no better place to relax from the stresses of hospital life
than where I can lose myself and merge in to the realm of Nature,our
forgotten mother. It has always been a mystery to me that I should lose
my identity while wandering alone in these wild places. Here in the forest,among the elephants and deer,I was no longer a doctor,but just another living creature endowed with no special privileges,and just as vulnerable as any other.

And I must carry my life in my hands,trusting my own primeval instincts,relying on my rudimentary senses,for rudimentary as they are,they represent my only weapons in that ruthless struggle for existence ,a struggle in to which I had so voluntarily, so willingly walked in to,to become a part of it. When you are alone in the wild and unarmed every sound,every shadowportends danger.

The law of the wild is ruthless,and intolerant of weaknesses and infirmity.

the watchful langur's warning bark.... the resonant belling of the alarmed sambar...

the shrill cries of the spotted deer,

all should warn me of unseen danger...even if it be far away..

to those who can read it , Nature is an open book..

Even the most powerful seek to avoid the dreaded presence of man,their mortal enemy,to whose hated race I belong...At my approach,even the mighty elephants hurry away...

The 'fierce' dhole slink away in to the undergrowth...for they know that this biped is more dangerous than the most dangerous wild animal .

From the safety of a jeep, tigers or elephants appear harmless,almost ridiculously innocuous creatures.

But when you are on foot and alone,the odds are staked against you. The law of the wild applies to you just as much as it does to any other creature.

A tusker ,even at a distance,coming in your direction,represents a formidable threat,a possible death portend.

I knew that alone and unarmed,I was the most vulnerable creature out in the jungle,and that I didn't enjoy any ''diplomatic'' immunity.

Yet there is thrill in being a son of Nature,even if it be for just a short while.And it is the very danger that provides the thrill.Even as I walked alone through the seemingly desolate jungle,I knew I was being watched,by a hundred eyes,all unseen by me.

.

The dhole watching from the cover of the jungle had no intention of returning to his sambar kill until he was rid of me.(below).

The huge bull elephant watched me with deceptive calmness to make sure that I didn't hang around..All the forest denizens wanted me to leave as if I was
a threat to all the creatures big and small. I was clearly an
outsider,a misfit in this peaceful scenario.It hurt me that they
regarded me an intruder,an interruption on the violent yet peaceful routine of
their lives.. There,intheir eyes I could see nothing but
apprehension,fear,suspicion.,and hatred.Once I was out of sight,the drama of life would resume normally...

In spite of the cold reception I got from my jungle brothern,I never really felt out of place.I had my own niche if only as a solitary being.I had had more than my fair share of enjoyment ,and my mind had freed itself from the tension and stress of city life.

Now, the time had come,to return to the so-called civilized world,the world of hypocrisy,corruption,and crimes.But during my hours of solitude,I could still close my eyes and travel back to those fairy lands where the deer and the gaur roamed in peace and the mighty elephant pulled down the branches to feed on the succulent young leaves.In my dreams,I could still walk along the shores of the mountain
lakes with the silvery ripples lashing playfully against my feet as if
inviting me to return to the world of Nature,the world created by God.